405: Return
by me11
Summary: Episode Five: Lex and Chloe meet up with Bruce Wayne in London...action follows...increased the rating because of some comments in Chapter 2...
1. Teaser

**Smallville 4.05: Return**  
  
_ Previously on Smallville:  
  
..."Sorry," Lex reached out to steady the guy he'd just collided with... Lex peered at him closely; he looked familiar. "Do I know you?"...  
  
..."As interesting as your plans sound," he smirked slightly, unable to hold it back when he saw her raised eyebrows. "I thought maybe we'd visit Lana. Paris is beautiful this time of year"...  
  
...The sudden flurry of flashes blinded her for a second, but she immediately plastered on a smile..."You'll get used to it," he assured her.  
  
..."My father's filed an appeal," Lex told her. "It goes to court tomorrow"...  
  
..."I've always wanted to go to London"... Lex nodded. "Okay, we'll go tomorrow"..._

_

* * *

_**Intro  
**  
Not a huge fan of flying, Chloe was glad to hear that Lex had bought them train tickets instead. They took the Eurostar from Paris to London (first class) where Lex's friend was supposed to meet them at Waterloo Station.  
  
Chloe and Lex filed off of the train and, once they'd collected their luggage, began to search the platform for...  
  
"Who am I looking for?" Chloe asked him, peering through the crowd hoping that someone would spot them first.  
  
"There," Lex pointed out a young man. He waved at his friend and they waited while the guy hurried over.  
  
"Luthor," he greeted jovially, shaking Lex's hand and thumping him on the back. Chloe was slightly disappointed to hear an American accent when he spoke – she'd been looking forward to a sexy, rich, British host.  
  
"Wayne," Lex returned; Chloe's ears perked up slightly at the name. She took a moment to get a good look at him; dark wavy hair, charming smile, and impressively broad shoulders...she'd seen him before. "Chloe," Lex put his hand on her back, catching her attention. "This is Bruce Wayne. Wayne this is Chloe Sullivan."  
  
"Hi," Chloe shook his hand, resisting the urge to question the man about Gotham City. "So how do you two know each other? Besides your memberships in the Young and Ridiculously Rich Americans Club?" she asked instead, allowing Bruce to carry a suitcase for her.  
  
"We went to boarding school together," Bruce replied, leading them out to a parking lot. "In Connecticut...at least we did, until Luthor got himself kicked out."  
  
Chloe smirked at Lex. "How many schools did you get kicked out of?"  
  
"Two," Lex shrugged. "And I wasn't even the bad one."  
  
"Whatever," Bruce rolled his eyes at the implications. "We'll have to take a taxi, my car only seats two." Bruce hailed an available car (the strangest taxi Chloe had ever seen) and the driver helped them load their bags.  
  
"How long are you planning on staying in London?" Bruce asked them once they were in the car and on their way. "Westminster," he told the driver. Chloe couldn't help but glance out the windows and the streams of traffic, all backwards.  
  
"Not too sure," Lex told him, sneaking a peak at Chloe out of the corner of his eye. "My father's appeal is going through State Supreme Court, so that could take a while." Bruce just nodded and snuck a glance at Chloe as well. If she'd had any doubts that Lex had told Bruce about her situation, they were gone now. Bruce Wayne may have been as smooth as Lex Luthor, but he wasn't nearly as adept at hiding emotions; pity was evidently painted all over his handsome face, like a mask. She hated it.  
  
"So Mr. Wayne," Chloe began, determined to take focus off of her own situation.  
  
"Call me Bruce," he cut in, giving her a flirty grin that didn't have near the effect that he was aiming for.  
  
"All right," she smiled back. "You're from Gotham, right? How long have you lived in London?"  
  
"I hold a flat in London," he told her. "I like to spend the summer's in Europe, and it's a good city to base out of."  
  
"Wayne Enterprises has several co-op offices in the UK," Lex told her, appearing quite bored with the passing scenery. Chloe nodded.  
  
"So did you enjoy Paris?" Bruce asked her. "Luthor said that you were visiting a friend there."  
  
"It was great," Chloe grinned. "I wish I spoke the language though." Bruce and Chloe continued to make polite conversation, and Lex still didn't join in.  
  
"Are we boring you Luthor?" Bruce asked him finally, a smile tugging on the corners of his lips.  
  
Lex shook his head. "No," he told them blandly, but still made no move to join in. Chloe felt the familiar feeling she got whenever she saw Clark and Lana together, like she'd walked into the middle of something; tension was thick. Each time she laughed at something that Bruce said Lex would glare silently at his friend. She knew it wasn't out of jealousy, but she still didn't know why.  
  
"Oh look," Bruce smirked again when the car pulled over. "We're here."  
  
TBC...

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_A/N: I'm sooo sorry for the lack of updates! My stupid a! computer had a TON of viruses. Also, I have to bring it in sometime this week to get the burner fixed...so updates may be few and far between. I'll try to do at least the first chapter (much longer than this one) before then though. Sorry guys and gals. :0( _

_Thanks for the reviews everyone...and don't worry (as I'm sure some of you will ;P ) this fic will NOT be a Bruce/Chloe fic. Okay? _


	2. One

**Chapter One**  
  
Bruce's flat was nice. It was in one of those blocks in Westminster where only the very rich could afford to live, and they even had their own private parks. For an apartment it was actually quite large. Chloe had her own room, and though it wasn't nearly as big as her room in the mansion, it was larger than her hotel room in Paris.  
  
Tastefully decorated, screaming English, and with a nice view of the park behind the building, she was happy to hang out in the room all day. But she didn't. Though Bruce Wayne had money to rival even Lex's fortune, it became quickly obvious that he didn't enjoy the benefits of extreme wealth as much as his friend. While the Luthor's kept a variety of paid help, Bruce had only a butler in Gotham, and none in London. He did hire a maid service to come in every five days or so though. Not that Chloe minded, she'd never been entirely comfortable having various servants around at all times, but she was surprised to walk into the kitchen and find Bruce cooking up a storm.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked him stupidly before she got a chance to phrase it better.  
  
He cocked an eyebrow. "Cooking?" he replied, as if questioning her intelligence.  
  
"Right, of course," she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean...I didn't realize you rich boys knew how to cook."  
  
"Some of us do," he grinned and began to slice a red pepper into strips. She smirked.  
  
"Can I help?"  
  
Bruce nodded and used his knife to point at a pot on the stove. "Can you stir that? It's the salad dressing, it needs to be stirred constantly once it starts to boil," he told her. "Burns easy."  
  
Chloe walked over to the stove and began to stir the contents; it looked like some kind of vinegar and herb dressing. "Where's Lex?" she asked him, peering intently into the pot.  
  
"He's on the phone with Metropolis," Bruce finished the peppers and set to work on grinding a few raspberries with a mortar and pestle. "He got a call just after we got back, apparently there was a problem with...something or other. He didn't really say."  
  
"Wonder why?" she snarked, knowing that Lex wouldn't share business information with anyone, let alone someone from a rival company. Bruce smirked back, echoing her thoughts.

* * *

They finished the cooking at the same time that Lex finished his phone call. He found them in the kitchen, pouring the now-cooled raspberry vinaigrette over the salad Bruce had prepared.  
  
"Sorry," Lex told them. "That took longer than I thought. I had actually planned on helping."  
  
"Helping?" Chloe snorted. "All he let me do was stir. I don't think he has much faith in my culinary skills."  
  
Lex smirked at her and leaned against the counter. "He's smarter than I thought then," he returned. Chloe stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"Okay children," Bruce finished tossing the salad and nudged Chloe out of the way to retrieve a roaster from the oven. Lex and Chloe watched in amusement as he donned a pair of oven mitts and proceeded to add several various herbs to whatever was in the roaster, a completely serious expression on his face.  
  
"Hey Martha Stewart?" Chloe cut in. "What else can I do?"  
  
"Set the table," Bruce smirked. "Get Luthor to show you where the cutlery goes." Chloe glared at him.  
  
"How about up your as—"Lex coughed loudly and drowned out her words. Bruce's smirk turned into a grin.  
  
"Feisty," he nodded in approval before turning to Lex. "I like her." Lex gave Bruce a rather tight smile before leading Chloe into the dining room.  
  
She followed him around the table, placing plates and glasses in the spots he had placed the silverware. "Is everything okay?" Chloe asked him tentatively. "Back home?"  
  
"Fine," Lex told her, seemingly very concentrated on the forks he was arranging.  
  
"Okay," she bit her lip. "It's just...you've been acting kind of different. Ever since we got here."  
  
He gave her a look that clearly said, "Drop it". She sighed and uncharacteristically bit her tongue, not wanting to start another fight on this trip.

* * *

Lex woke up bright and early the next morning. He'd promised to do one of those campy bus tours with Chloe – the red double-decker buses with no roof. When he made his way into the kitchen he was surprised to find Chloe sitting at the island, nursing a large cup of coffee.  
  
"Morning," she chirped. From the speed at which her leg was bouncing around, he guessed that she'd had at least three cups already.  
  
"You're up early," he remarked, and poured a cup of the questionable looking beverage. He tasted it and almost gagged; Chloe had made it.  
  
"Couldn't sleep," she confessed. "I'm sorry about the coffee."  
  
"That's okay," he added two sugars to the tar that she liked to refer to as coffee and handed her the mug. "This is England; I'll make some tea."  
  
"Still up for that tour," she asked him eagerly.  
  
Lex struggled not to scowl at the idea of spending the morning stuck on a bus watching Bruce ogle Chloe. He shrugged instead and tried not to be suckered in by the pleading look in her eyes.  
  
"Bruce left thirty minutes ago," she added, sensing his reluctance. "Said he'd be gone all day."  
  
Lex only took a second to think about it this time. "Okay," he agreed and poured some boiling water into a new mug.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "For a guy who you're supposed to be friends with," she moved on to the second mug. "You don't really seem to like him very much."  
  
Lex smirked slightly and sat down across from her. "It's a complicated relationship," Lex told her evasively. His friendship with Bruce Wayne was really more of an acquaintance that they both kept up for business reasons. They didn't really like each other. Lex had phoned Bruce from Paris as a courtesy, keeping friendly with a good business connection. Bruce had invited Lex and Chloe to stay with him for the exact same reasons, although he seemed to take a liking to Chloe.  
  
"Sure you don't want to vague that up a little?" she teased. "Anyways, he left us a key. What time do you want to go?"  
  
"Whenever you're ready," he appreciated her not pushing the Bruce- issue any further.  
  
"I'm ready now," she gulped back the last of her coffee and grinned at him. Lex smiled warmly at her for a moment before finishing his tea.  
  
"Let's go," he set his mug down and grabbed the key off of the counter. She had her purse ready to go, beside her stool, and was at the door in a second. He double-checked to make sure he had his wallet and then followed her out.  
  
While he locked the deadbolt Chloe rocked back and forth on her heels, gnawing on her bottom lip. "Hey Lex?" she finally spit out.  
  
"What?" he tried not to snap at her, the fidgeting becoming rather annoying. She calmed herself and looked up at him seriously.  
  
"Do you know Prince William?" she asked him, not a trace of a smile on her face.  
  
He raised his eyebrows slightly. "No, I don't," he told her.  
  
"Damn."

* * *

Chloe loved London. The city was classic enough to satisfy Lex's aristocratic personality but also eclectic enough for Chloe to enjoy. They did the bus tour and Chloe got some excellent pictures of Big Ben, Parliament, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London and the London Eye.  
  
It was summer so they were able to get inside the gates at Buckingham Palace. Chloe had to quell the urge to snoop around inside the Palace; Prince William probably wasn't in there anyways. They had lunch at a pub near Victoria Station. "Now what?" Chloe asked Lex as they were leaving the small pub. She took a seat on a nearby bench and waited for him to join her. "We could go to the Tower and see the Crown Jewels...or maybe the British Museum."  
  
Lex shook his head. "The British Museum could take the whole day," he told her.  
  
"Tower of London then?" she asked him. He shrugged.  
  
"Or we could go shopping," he smirked. She perked up slightly at the idea of getting a cool new outfit, London style.  
  
"Where?"  
  
"It's big," Chloe remarked, staring up at the large Harrods building in front of them. On the sidewalks, people swarmed around them, making their ways into the various stores.  
  
"It's a tourist attraction too," Lex told her. "So you're killing two—"  
  
"Don't finish that analogy," she grimaced. "I like birds. Let's go in." Leg nodded and they entered through the large doors. She looked around at the signs and various escalators. "So they sell..."  
  
"Everything," Lex finished. "Souvenirs, make-up, clothing, grand pianos...just about everything."  
  
"I love it already," she flashed him a mega-watt smile and began to make her way over to the women's clothing. Lex followed her easily. Spotting a selection on funky blazers she made a beeline over to them.  
  
"I'm going to look around," Lex told her, clearly not anticipating the fashion parade she was bound to hold for herself. "I'll find you in a while."  
  
"Try to restrain yourself," she teased him as he made his way to the floor with the men's clothes. Lex rolled his eyes at her. She laughed silently and abandoned the jackets; for some reason wearing various St. Pepper-ish outfits didn't feel like her style anymore.  
  
She browsed through the rest of the clothes, finding several outfits that almost made her cry upon seeing the price tags. No matter what Lex had told her, she was pretty sure that he wouldn't love it if she racked her credit card up on a whole new wardrobe.  
  
She avoided the shoes completely and found the perfume displays. She tentatively sniffed the demos, hoping to find a nice souvenir for Lana or Mrs. Kent. After about twenty minutes of sniffing, Chloe selected three different bottles of perfume, two gifts and one for herself. She paid at a nearby register – with money she'd taken out of her account earlier that day – and then continued on to the next floor.  
  
Lex was right about the store selling everything. She found hand painted carousel horses, a variety of electronics, and even the pianos that he had mentioned. Deciding that most of those things were a little too rich for her blood, she began to search for Lex.  
  
She found him perusing over the men's shoes, his arms laden with at least seven bags. "Didn't you find anything you like?" he asked her, noting that she only carried one bag.  
  
She quirked an eyebrow and looked pointedly at the bags that he was holding. "Lot's of stuff, but I didn't buy all of it," she reached out and grabbed three of the bags, because it was starting to look like he would fall over. "Is this you restraining yourself?"  
  
"Yes," he smirked.  
  
"I'd love to see you go wild then," she muttered, hiking the bags up onto her shoulders.  
  
"I doubt that," he put down the shoes he'd been looking at and leaned against the display. "Bruce called my cell when you were gone. Apparently he's meeting some associates tonight at a club in Soho. Do you want to go?"  
  
"Really?" she grinned. "Will they let me in?"  
  
"You're seventeen," Lex reminded her. "You can do anything here...except rent a car." Chloe nodded eagerly.  
  
"Okay," she told him.  
  
"You'd better go buy something to wear," he smirked.  
  
"Here?"  
  
"No, I'll bring you somewhere else," he led her out of the store and hailed them a taxi. They climbed in, grateful to unload the bags somewhere. "I have to go back to to the flat. I'm expecting an important call from Metropolis."  
  
"Sure," she nodded. She'd been curious to try out the Underground, but he had insisted on taking taxi's everywhere. The driver pulled the car over in front of a store and Lex nodded towards it.  
  
"You should be able to find something here," he told her. "Can you find your way back to the flat?"  
  
"Yes Lex," she rolled her eyes. "I'm not a child." He smirked.  
  
"Okay, I'll see you later," he opened the door for her and she left her bag in the car with him. She grabbed her purse and climbed out of the car, looking up at the store in front of her. There were mannequins in the windows wearing technicolor leggings and silver halters. "Chloe," Lex rolled down the window. "Tell them that you're going to Pandemonium. They'll know what you should wear."  
  
"Okay," she gave him a little wave and walked into the store. There was no bell above the door but the sales girl seemed to hear her come in anyways. Chloe looked around for a few minutes, checking out a rack of halter-tops with a large red reduced sign over them.  
  
"May I help you find something?" a voice asked her. Chloe turned around to the sales girl hopefully, noting that she had really cute hair, and almost asking where she'd gotten it done.  
  
"I hope so," she smiled at the girl. "I'm supposed to get an outfit to where to this club tonight."  
  
"Okay," the girl smiled back. "What kind of club is it? Do you know the name?"  
  
"It's called Pandemonium," Chloe told her. The girl's eyes brightened and her smile widened. "What?"  
  
"You're going to Pandemonium?" she repeated in her lithe accent.  
  
"Yeah, have you ever been there?" Chloe asked her curiously. "I'm not too sure what I should wear."  
  
"I've never been," the girl told her. "It's quite posh...you won't find anything up here." She led her away from the reduced halters towards the back of the store to the racks of chained leather skirts and funkier looking tops. "My name is Emma by the way," the girl said.  
  
"Chloe," she returned, fingering a silver tube top as they walked by. "So this place is fancy?"  
  
"Not fancy," Emma clarified with a grin. "It's expensive; for the tragically wealthy. You have to know someone to even get near the door."  
  
"Sounds about right," Chloe sighed. Of course Lex and Bruce would be hanging out at one of the most exclusive clubs in the city.  
  
"Who are you going with?" Emma asked her, flipping through a rack of skirts. "What size?"  
  
"My friend...actually I live with him," Chloe tried to decide how to describe Lex Luthor. "Oh, I'm a four."  
  
"American four?" Emma asked. Chloe nodded and she grabbed several skirts off of the rack. "That's a six here then...so is he your boyfriend?"  
  
"No!" she protested, more defensively than she would have liked. "He's just...it's complicated. He's older though, a bit out of my league anyways."  
  
"No one is out of your league unless you allow them to be," Emma told her and led her over to some shirts.  
  
"Do I need this much stuff?" Chloe asked her skeptically, beginning to think that the girl was just after a high commission.  
  
"No, but you have to try on everything if you want to impress anyone at Pandemonium," Emma grabbed a magazine off or the counter by her cash register. She handed it to Chloe; it was a tabloid. "They get heaps of photos of the celebrities that go. You'd better have a spectacular outfit, in case you wind up in Star."  
  
Chloe looked down at the two-page spread of various celebrities (some she knew and some she'd never heard of) with various captions about their activities. At least half of them were given thumbs down for their choice of clothing.  
  
"I guess you don't want to end up the next Paris Hilton," Chloe closed the magazine.  
  
"Right," Emma hung a large pile of clothes in a dressing room. "Start with those."  
  
Chloe nodded and gulped slightly, but she closed the door and began to strip off her clothes anyways.  
  
TBC....

* * *

_A/N: Hello all! It's time for another author's note, you lucky people you. ;0) So, thanks to everyone for the sympathies about the annoying computer problems. I'm bringing it in tomorrow and it has to go to factory to get the hardware fixed (remind me to NEVER buy anything from CDC again!). The bad news is that this will put a dent in my normally stellar updating schedule (coughyeah rightcough), so I apologize now. Good news is that since I can't type, I have been working on Episode 6 the old fashioned way - pen and a lot of paper. I won't tell you what happens in 4.06...because where's the fun in that, but I will give you a few tiny spoilers. Okay? Ready..._

* * *

* * *

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* * *

* * *

_-Clark will be back next ep..._

_-Back to Smallville for our favorite couple..._

_-An angsty ending to Episode 6 and most of Episode 7_

_-Back to school in Episode 7 (which is kindof late in the series, I know)_

_-Pete will pop up in Episode 6_

_-Some future episode titles are (because hints are fun but right out telling you sucks for me):_

_4.06 - Agendas_

_4.07 - Coronation_

_4.08 - Celebration_

_And that's all folks! Thanks for the reviews! Oh yeah, Pandemonium isn't a real club (that I know of) it's just a name that I got from Paradise Lost. It's Satan's palace in Hell...figured it sounded like a good place for a bunch of rich brats looking to have a good time. _


	3. Two

**Chapter 2**  
  
Emma turned out to be right about the club. When they got out of the car Bruce had hired, they were bombarded with camera flashes. Apparently Bruce Wayne was rumored to have one of his billionaire friends in town, and the media was going crazy for pictures of Lex.  
  
As they snapped shot after shot of the three of them Chloe couldn't help but laugh at the various questions about where she'd gotten her outfit. She wore a black pleated leather mini-skirt, black stiletto boots that ended just under her knees, and a semi-translucent silver top with a silver chain over her left shoulder to hold it together.  
  
Lex and Bruce posed unconsciously for the cameras for a minute before making their way into the club. The bouncer at the door shook hands with Bruce before waving them through, deftly pocketing the 100 pound note he'd been slipped.  
  
The music pulsed around them while Lex led her to the VIP section, right behind Bruce. Bruce cleared a path through the crowd, to a large booth where two couples sat, already waiting. He introduced the others to Lex and Chloe, but the sound of the music drowned him out.  
  
A waitress sauntered over to them to get them drinks. Lex looked at Chloe quickly before ordering her an apple martini and a scotch for himself. She didn't say anything about the drink, or his presumptuousness at ordering for her; she really didn't know her alcohol. Her friends in Smallville weren't very big drinkers.  
  
While Bruce and Lex talked to the rather shifty looking guy across from her, Chloe busied herself watching the dancers on the floor below them. Hundreds of scantily dressed women and designer clad men danced amid the pulsing strobe light and thumping bass line. They dipped and rolled, grinded and gyrated...and she wanted to join them. The sultry bass and melodic techno-pop was making her antsy.  
  
The waitress returned with her drink, a meteor-green concoction in a large martini glass. Chloe took a tentative sip; it tasted like candy apples with a very recognizable aftertaste that she later learned was a trademark of any drink with enough vodka in it. She finished the drink in a couple of minutes and then turned her gaze back down to the dancers. She really wanted to go down and join them, but she wasn't sure if that was appropriate. They were there to meet with business associates and she had a strong feeling that she was expected to wait quietly until business was over.  
  
Luckily, the other two girls at the table seemed to be thinking along the same lines as her. The redhead leaned over Lex and let her red-stained lips hover near Chloe's ear, the neckline of her dress dipping slightly.  
  
"Do you want to dance?" she asked Chloe smoothly, completely aware of the peep show that she was giving the bald man beside her. Chloe nodded and joined the red head and the other girl, a brunette with doe eyes to rival even Lana Lang's, on the landing in front of the stairs.  
  
"I'm Leena," the brunette told her. "This is Tina." Chloe held back a snort.  
  
"Chloe," she said instead and followed the others down the winding staircase to the dance floor, mindful of the stilettos on her boots.

* * *

Lex was bored with the club. The business part of the evening had passed quickly, with plans to meet the next day for lunch. With the formalities out of the way, the others moved on to the real reason they'd agreed to meet at Pandemonium—to see and be seen.  
  
He spotted Chloe on the dance floor easily; she was laughing with the red head about something. While Lex had never been a fan of dancing, he was so bored that he was considering. Chloe and the red head left the dance floor and headed over to the bar, leaving the brunette by herself. She was just Lex's type: beautiful, leggy, brunette, and judging from the company that she kept, just as power hungry as he was.  
  
Bruce seemed to share his desire for entertainment, because he soon rose to his feet and set aside his empty glass. "Luthor, let's join the ladies," he called over the music. Lex stood gracefully, sure to shoot Bruce and arrogant look and making sure that he was the first one down the stairs, not wanting to follow a Wayne anywhere.  
  
By the time Lex and Bruce had reached the brunette, Chloe and the red head had returned. He cocked an eyebrow at the drink Chloe held in her hand, a pink concoction in a martini glass. Chloe smirked at him over the rim of her glass, holding his gaze defiantly while she took a large sip, draining half of the glass. He smirked inwardly at her brazenness, liking her more and more everyday. Lex made a mental not to keep an eye on her alcohol intake though, knowing that she wasn't much of a drinker.  
  
The red head smiled seductively at him, distracting him momentarily from Chloe (who was finishing off her drink). Chloe set the glass down on a nearby platform before flashing them a brilliant smile.  
  
"Are we going to dance or what?" she demanded, catching Bruce's gaze. To Lex's displeasure, Wayne was quick to slide his arm over Chloe's shoulder and lead her to the dance floor.  
  
The brunette blinked and shot a bored look at the other dancers before turning to her friend. "Tina I'm going to find Vaughn," and then she stalked away, making sure that Lex saw the way her hips swayed a little more than necessary while she went.  
  
Not wanting to be rude, Lex smiled his most charming grin at the red head. "Tina," he leaned in close to her ear, as she had done earlier with Chloe. "Dance with me." He didn't ask, didn't have to. Tina didn't seem to mind.  
  
She ran her hand down his shoulder and grasped the front of his shirt, pulling him towards the dance floor, making her way over to where Chloe and Bruce were dancing. Lex followed easily, not paying attention to the girl in front of him, but finding himself watching Chloe and Bruce. He hadn't given much thought to her outfit earlier, but now that he was watching her dance he noticed how the skirt rode up when she dipped. The flared pleats swayed when her hips shimmied, and the semi-translucent fabric of the shirt shifter, the neckline dipping dangerously, when Bruce ran his hand down her side.  
  
She looked wild and wanton, a perfect wet dream. If he wasn't a brunette man... The thought shocked him and he swiftly reprimanded himself for thinking about Chloe that way. It wasn't the first time he'd found himself attracted to her, but their situation was very different now. As long as he was under his guardianship, she was off limits from him, and people like him. Including Bruce Wayne.  
  
Tina moved closer to him and his arms slipped automatically around her as she ground her hips suggestively into his. As beautiful as his dance partner was, he had issues with red heads; they brought back unpleasant memories of cornfields and meteor showers. The flashing strobe and beams of colored lights madder her hair look darker though, and he had to remind himself of that a few times later that night when he and Tina found a private shadowed spot on the catwalk. The red heads attentions made up for the unpleasant memories, and while he kept his body occupied with her, his mind continued to stray bitterly to Chloe, now on her fourth drink and still dancing with Bruce Wayne.

* * *

Chloe squinted at the map in front of her, and then turned it 90 degrees to the left. She was standing on the sidewalk of Charing Cross Road, trying to locate Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on her map. But old Billy was proving to be rather evasive.  
  
"Am I even on the right street?" she muttered, checking the map again. "Oh! No, I'm not..." Chloe groaned and rubbed at her temples. Her head was still sore, despite the aspirin she'd taken two hours age, and the map wasn't helping.  
  
The club had been fun, but Chloe had woken up that morning with a throbbing headache. Lex had smirked superiorly at her and handed her two aspirins and a glass of water. She had to force herself to bite her tongue when he did. She knew how easy it would be to wipe the smirk off of his face, all she had to do was mention his not-so-clandestine-escapade with Tina on the catwalk, but she actually was thankful that he'd cut off her alcohol intake when he did. He'd stopped her from buying a sixth drink, taking her by the arm forcefully and leading her away from the bar to a row of plush benches along the wall. At the time she'd been mad, but now she was glad that he'd done so; she shuttered to think what her head would be feeling if she'd had more to drink.  
  
Chloe was about ready to give up on finding the Globe Theatre. Her map told her that it would be easy to find Trafalgar Square from where she was now... Mind made up, Chloe began to make her way down the road, in the direction of the famous square. She walked leisurely, pocketing the map and wondering how Lex's meeting was going. He'd told her that he wouldn't be able to join in her sightseeing that day, because some business problems had arisen and he had to meet an associate. Chloe had seen the way he'd eyed Leena at the club, and didn't really blame him for not wanting her there for that particular meeting. Not even he had enough money to make her watch that.  
  
Walking down the street, amongst the busy cars and hurried pedestrians, where no one knew her, Chloe felt like...Chloe again. For the first time in a long while, she wasn't getting looks of pity or sympathetic smiles. She was so caught up in the feeling that she didn't see the man that was following her.

* * *

Randy Miller swore lightly to himself and dodged yet another swarm of tourists as they came out of the Hard Rock Casino entrance. The girl was getting away from him as she successfully weaved her small frame through the throng of pedestrians.  
  
Randy sidestepped an old lady and pushed his way through the rest of the group. He didn't want to get too close to the girl yet, in case she saw him and decided to run. It was important that he not screw it up, not this time...  
  
TBC...

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reviewing guys. Just curious though, what was it about the last chapter that some of you didn't get? If it's something big I'll look into changing it. :0)_

_Also, a shout out to my mom for letting me use her computer while mine's in getting fixed. Thank you mommy! ;0)_


	4. Three

**Chapter 3**  
  
Chloe found Trafalgar Square eventually. It may have been a weekday, but the place was still crawling with people, tourists mostly. She took a couple of pictures of the monuments and one of the Victoria and Albert Museum. She contemplated going inside, but her head really was pounding, and eventually decided to stay outside and get some fresh air. Or as much fresh air as one could get in a city the size of London.  
  
Pulling out her trusty map, she began to search for her next route. Finally deciding, she put the map away again and set off to find Piccadilly Circus.

* * *

Randy watched the girl from his spot by one of the lion statues in the square. The sun was shining brightly overhead and the black suit that he wore was making him hot. He was also pretty sure that he'd have sunburn on his head later, because his bald scalp was starting to heat up.  
  
The girl was moving again, hopefully this time to somewhere less public...

* * *

Chloe walked swiftly in the direction of the circus. She passed a sign telling her that it was up ahead; so she was on the right track. A faint ringing sound registered over the commotion around her, but she paid it no mind; every other person here seemed to have a cell phone. When the ringing seemed to follow her she looked behind her, to see if someone was ignoring his or her phone. Seeing only a group of old ladies –tourists—behind her and a large bald man a little ways back, she realized that the sound was coming from her.  
  
Chloe riffled through her purse curiously, trying to find the source of the ringing. She'd just found a small silver flip phone at the bottom of her bag – when the ringing stopped. She pulled the phone out and stared at it in confusion.  
  
Not wanting to get in the way of all of the people on the street, Chloe moved over to the side and stood in front of a store window. The phone display read "1 missed call" and she knew immediately whom it was from. She jumped slightly when the phone rang again. Sure enough the display read "Lex".  
  
"Hello?" she answered, trying not to smirk at the very idea of him having to hide a phone for her to take it.  
  
"So you finally found it," Lex greeted over the line. Chloe rolled her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, I wish you'd have told me," she sighed dramatically. "I kept hearing ringing and didn't know where it was coming from. Now I feel like an idiot."  
  
"Sorry," he said, not sounding at all sorry. "Where are you?"  
  
Chloe looked up at the name printed on the store window. "I'm in front of..." her voice trailed off as she noticed a reflection in the window. Actually, she noticed someone in the reflection.  
  
"Chloe?" Lex asked.  
  
"Lex, you didn't get security to follow me around today did you?" she asked him anxiously, knowing that he wouldn't really do that without telling her, but rather hoping that he had.  
  
"No, why?" Lex sounded concerned now.  
  
"Oh, it's just there's this guy," Chloe explained, feeling stupid as she did so. "He was behind me before when I was walking...and he's still there."  
  
"What do you mean?" Lex definitely sounded worried now.  
  
"I mean he's standing a few stores down, just looking around," Chloe was beginning to worry. "You seriously didn't send him?"  
  
"No, I didn't," Lex replied. "What does he look like? Do you recognize him?"  
  
"I don't thinks do," she turned to the reflection again. "He's bald, maybe mid-thirties, and he's wearing a black suit..."  
  
"He's one of my father's lackeys," Lex told her seriously. "He's the one who put the magnesium sulfate in your IV bag in Metropolis."  
  
Chloe's breathing increased. "What's he doing here?" she cried, trying not to draw attention to herself.  
  
"I don't know," Lex told her, clearly lying. They both knew what he was doing there. "Does he know that you've seen him yet?"  
  
"I don't think so," Chloe shook her head. "I haven't turned around yet."  
  
"Okay, don't," Lex told her forcefully. "If he thinks you haven't seen him yet he'll probably just keep following you until you go somewhere less public. Hail a taxi, right now."  
  
Chloe looked around as casually as she could, considering how nervous she was. "There are no taxi's around," she told him shakily. "I'm near Piccadilly Circus, there's and Underground station."  
  
"Stay where there are plenty of people," Lex told her. "Do the lines go to Victoria Station?" She glanced at her Underground map.  
  
"No I have to transfer."  
  
"Is there another station close by? One that gets more than one line?" Lex asked her. Chloe looked at the map again. "Stay above ground as long as possible."  
  
"Oxford Circus is close," she told him, finding a direct path to the station and trying desperately not to cry. "It has the Victoria line."  
  
"Start walking there," Lex told her. Chloe nodded, though he couldn't see, and began to walk; she had to force herself not to run. "Keep an eye out for a taxi."  
  
"Okay," she breathed, trying to keep from looking backwards. She locked her eyes on the map instead, careful to not take a wrong turn.  
  
"It's going to be okay Chloe," he tried to reassure her. "Just take a deep breath." She did but it didn't help much. "How's your head?"  
  
"Still sore," she confessed, eyes roaming for a taxi. "You should have warned me about the downfalls of alcohol."  
  
"I thought you'd know already," he teased nervously.  
  
"I do now," she sighed. "Why is there never a taxi when you need one. I must have seen fifty of them earlier today and now when I need just one, I can't find any!"  
  
"Where did you go today?" Lex asked her.  
  
"Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square," Chloe began listing. "I saw a Bentley dealership and thought of you...oh, I went to Hamley's."  
  
"The toy store?" Lex asked.  
  
"Yeah, do you know it has six floors," she told him, biting at one of her nails. "Biggest damn toy store I've ever seen. They had this huge Lego giant from Harry Potter. It was like nine feet tall—oh hey! I can see Oxford Circus."  
  
"You thought it was an actual Circus didn't you," he teased.  
  
"No," Chloe protested. "You're crazy."  
  
"So I've been told," he remarked dryly.  
  
"Well, if you'd give up the scotch..." she trailed off suggestively, making it to the stairway into the Underground station. "I'm at the ticket thing," she told him, holding the phone with her shoulder and fishing through her purse. "Am I going to loose the signal?"  
  
"Maybe," he sighed. "I've never used a phone in the Underground."  
  
She looked at the ticket machine. "Where am I going? Victoria Station?" she asked him, pushing the button for a one-way ticket.  
  
"I'm going out the door right now," Lex told her. She could make out the sound of keys jingling as he spoke. "I'll meet you at the station."  
  
"It's a big station Lex," she reminded him and dropped the coins into the machine.  
  
"Out front, where we got on the tour bus," he clarified. Chloe got her ticket once it printed and turned around. She almost jumped when she saw Lionel's guy in the line behind her. Forcing herself to tear her eyes away, she hurried through the ticket corrals and followed the signs to the escalators.  
  
She could feel eyes on her back and knew that he was following. "Lex?" she asked into her phone. The only response was the static that greeted her, nothing else. Swearing under her breath, she snapped the phone shut and kept it clutched tightly in her hand. The hallway forked and she went left, hoping that he wouldn't try anything.

* * *

Randy took a left, following the girl as casually as he could. She was weaving between the handfuls of people in the hallway, heading towards her platform. He was pretty sure that she suspected something, after the way she'd looked at him in the ticket line. He couldn't do much with all of those people around, so he kept following, hoping that she'd get into an empty train car. She looked back over her shoulder at him quickly before speeding it.  
  
"Damn it," he swore quietly. She knew.

* * *

Lex hit the redial button on his phone again, hoping to get through to Chloe's cell. She must have still been on the train, because he was getting no answer. The taxi he was riding in came to a stop and Lex looked out the window, wondering why. Traffic jam.  
  
"How much further?" he asked the driver.  
  
"Jus' around the block," the driver told him. Lex pulled a 100 pound note out of his wallet and shoved it into the man's hand. Without another word he climbed out of the car and took off in the direction of the station.

* * *

Chloe got to the platform just in time to slip into the train before it pulled away. She broke into a run, hurrying towards the nearest car. She was relieved to find it at least half full of people when she climbed on. The man hopped on right behind her, just as the doors slid shut. She made her way to the opposite end of the car, hoping he wouldn't follow. He didn't.

* * *

Randy sat down on the end seat, not wanting the other passengers to suspect that he was following her. She knew, obviously, but there wasn't much that she could do without drawing attention to herself. He waited.

* * *

Lex rounded a corner and looked up at the large building in front of him. The sign read Victoria Coach Station. He took a deep breath and ran a hand over his head, wiping sweat away. The train station was just down the block...

* * *

Chloe bit her lip nervously as the train stopped to pick up more passengers. The next stop was hers, and Baldy was eyeing her pointedly.

* * *

Lex was running, full force. He was almost to the train station. Catching sight of several busses parked in a bus loop, he knew that he was close. He waited impatiently at a crosswalk with several other pedestrians, not able to cut across the busy street.

* * *

The train stopped and the girl jumped to her feet. She was swept out of the car with the wave of other passengers. Randy hurried out as well, pushing his way through the enormous crowd waiting to get on the train. He could just make out a flash of blonde hurrying towards the exit. He followed.

* * *

Chloe pushed her way through the crowd as best she could, weaving and elbowing as necessary. She made it to the escalators and stuck to the left side, running up the steep flights as quickly as she could. Her phone rang.

* * *

"Lex?" Chloe asked over the line, sounding out of breath. He sighed in relief, waiting for his chance to cross yet another street.  
  
"Are you here yet?" he asked. The walk sign lit up and he pushed his way through.  
  
"Just got off of the—"  
  
"Chloe?" Lex yelled into the phone. He could hear only the sounds of hundreds of footsteps. Now across the street, he hung up the phone and broke into a run again, towards the tour buses.

* * *

Chloe didn't stop to pick up the phone she'd dropped. 'Lex can buy another,' she thought, pushing her way up the last of the stairs and onto the ground level. She took a sharp right and followed the route she knew would take her to the meeting place.

* * *

He couldn't see the girl; there were too many people. Randy pushed roughly now, eyes searching the crowd for any signs of the blonde. He caught sight of her finally, going through the ticket corrals and heading towards the shops.

* * *

Chloe took advantage of the extra open space and broke into a run, past the Swatch stand, past the magazine racks outside, until she spotted the tour buses. She ran towards the closest one, just as Lex came running around the other side, straight towards her. There was no describing the immense relief that she felt at seeing him.  
  
"Are you okay?" he grabbed her arm quickly.  
  
"He's right behind me," Chloe cried, throwing a glance over her shoulder to see how close he'd gotten. Lex grabbed her hand and they ran towards the streets, jumping into the nearest taxi that they found.  
  
"St. Paul," Lex barked at the driver and locked the doors. The old driver looked surprised but nodded. He pulled away from the curb immediately. Lex and Chloe looked out the window behind them and saw Lionel's guy run up to the tour busses. He looked around desperately, face red from exertion, and swore loudly at the fact that he'd lost her.  
  
Knowing that he was gone for now, Chloe sank back into her seat and buried her face in her hands. Lex leaned forward and instructed the driver where in St. Paul he was to take them, Bruce's office building. Then he leaned back beside her and she pulled her hands from her face. Lex put an arm around her shoulders and she allowed herself to give in to the desire to lean against him. She willed herself not to cry and took several deep breaths to calm herself down.  
  
"I want to go home," she whispered, sorry to have to say it. Lex didn't reply; he nodded and rested his cheek against her hair. Chloe allowed couple of tears to track their way down her cheeks.  
  
TBC... 


	5. Closer

**Closer**  
  
Lex followed the large stone staircase down, into the basement of the mansion. Quinn had told him that Chloe was down there.  
  
The door to her storage room was ajar, and light was beaming out through the open crack. He pushed it open and found her sitting on a couch, amid the piles of boxes and furniture.  
  
"There you are," Lex greeted her. She gave him a small smile and put aside the photo album she'd been looking through.  
  
"Here I am," Lex made his way over to her, wading through the various boxes, and joined her on the couch.  
  
"What are you doing?" he asked her.  
  
"I was looking at pictures," she told him sadly. He noticed something black sitting between them on the couch. He picked it up and discovered, to his amusement, that it was a felt beret. "Want to hear something hokey?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"I bought that when we were in Paris, for my dad," she took the hat from him and fingered the soft velvet. "I was back at the hotel before I even realized that he wouldn't be here when we came back."  
  
Lex didn't know what to say, but he did understand. He reached a hand out and ran it through her hair lightly, unsure of what to do. Chloe took it as an invitation and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He continued to stroke her hair and she continued to clutch the beret in her small hands.  
  
"I was just starting to fell normal again, before he found me," she whispered. Lex moved her a little bit closer.  
  
"We're home now," Lex told her, toying with one of the silky blonde locks. "You'll be safe."  
  
She shook her head. "He'll keep finding me," she didn't even turn her head to look up at him. "Even with Quinn, and you, and the rest of the people that you hire; if Lionel wants me dead, they'll find me."  
  
He didn't try to deny it, because he knew that she was right. Lionel Luthor wouldn't stop until one of them was dead, and he got his revenge. Ruining her life wasn't enough; he wanted to see her bleed. "It's not going to happen Chloe," Lex pressed his lips against her hair in a quick kiss. "I won't let it. I promise."  
  
Chloe nodded slightly and then turned her face up to meet his. "Thanks for taking me with you," she told him, referring to the trip they'd just returned from. "Until the end there...it was great."  
  
Lex smiled. "I'm glad you let me," he told her honestly. He'd enjoyed the company and he'd really enjoyed seeing her have fun again. Chloe returned the smile, parting her lips slightly.  
  
"Lex, I—"the unmistakable sound of rubber shoes catching on stone floor cut her off and drew both of their attentions to the new arrival.  
  
He stood in the doorway, eyes ignoring Lex completely and resting solely on Chloe, searching her face painfully. The flicker in his eyes showed that he'd noticed how close they were sitting. Chloe stared back at him, open mouthed, and Lex was actually at a loss for words.  
  
Clark Kent.  
  
End.

* * *

_Next time, on Smallville:  
  
..."Chloe," Clark says painfully...she throws her arms around him tightly...  
  
..."I didn't tell her Lex," Clark says and looks over his shoulder...  
  
..."You make me forget Clark," Chloe tells him, eyes closed and sun shining down on her face..."You make me remember"...  
  
..."Mr. Luthor wants to see you," a driver tells Randy...  
  
..."Clark's picking me up," Chloe tells Lex. "We're meeting Pete in Metropolis"...  
  
...A loud bang is heard..."What was that?" Chloe asks...  
  
...Randy holds a gun steady, pointed at Chloe...Pete and Clark put their hands up...  
  
..."Sorry Sullivan," Randy tells Chloe, blue lights and sirens going off in the background. "No deal"... _


End file.
